The mere thought of biting into a chilled watermelon or sipping chilled watermelon juice during summer is a refreshing thought. What many do not readily realise is that not just they are not just a refresher, but they are also loaded with multiple health benefits. Another surprising fact is that they have been in use since 5000 years ago and are referred to in ancient literature. There are about 300 varieties and are easily available during summer.

Many may think that watermelon is loaded with water. However, there are also multiple compounds including vitamins and minerals; vitamins C, A, B1, B5, and B6; minerals like potassium and magnesium, and compounds like carotenoids and lycopene. These have multiple benefits on the health and so watermelon can be consumed without any second thought in abundance.

Read on to know some of the wonders of this melon.

Hydration: One of the best remedies to avoid the ill effects of summer is to improve hydration levels, and there could be no better way to do this than with watermelon (eat it or drink it!) It is 92% water, and therefore leaves you refreshed and rejuvenated.
Heart health: Lycopene helps reduce cholesterol, reduce thickening of artery walls, and reduces oxidative stress. The various minerals and vitamins also add to the heart health qualities of watermelon. The citrulline in it also increases nitric oxide level in the body, which expands or dilates blood vessels and improves blood pressure.
Anti-inflammatory benefits: The lycopene and vitamin C reduce the levels of C-reactive protein which are responsible for inflammation. The antioxidant levels also lower inflammation, thereby reducing the onset of degenerative diseases like Alzheimer s.
Eye health: Watermelons, through their anti-inflammatory effects, reduce the onset of age-related macular degeneration. Those who already have it can also see the delayed progression of the condition, thereby prolonging vision loss.
Muscle soreness: Those who have muscle soreness should reach out for a slice of watermelon to get instant relief from this soreness. Watermelon also improves exercise endurance and performance, and the added benefit on the heart also improves exercise tolerance.
Skin and hair benefits: These benefits come from multiple sources in the melon. The vitamin A helps improve skin regeneration, vitamin C helps collagen formation and improved skin tone. Lycopene and beta-carotene help control the damage caused by sun exposure and pigmentation.
Digestive benefits: The very nature of watermelon almost completely water and high fibre directly benefits the stomach. It cleanses the stomach and promotes bowel movement. Not just the red portion, even the rind and seeds are beneficial as there is a lot of citrulline and chlorophyll which are also healthy.

Watermelon - One Fruit, Many Benefits!

What are kidney stones?
The primary function of the kidney is to filter the blood and eliminate the waste products through urine. The waste deposition is sometimes in the form of excessive calcium, uric acid and other undesirable contents. It may cause the urine to get highly saturated. This is when stone like formations take place inside the kidneys. Kidney stones are also termed renal lithiasis or calculi. There are different kinds of kidney stones, which are differentiated based on its varied constituents. Kidney stones cause excruciating pain and uneasiness. Frequent urination, extreme discomfort during urinating and presence of blood in the urine are some of the major signs of kidney stones. The symptoms are not evident if the stones are very small in size.

Causes of kidney stones:

Incorrect calcium intake: High amounts of calcium can lead to high calcium depositions in the kidneys. It is important to keep the calcium intake moderate. Calcium supplements must be checked if you have already included dairy products in your diet.
Abnormal rates of sodium in the body: Sodium, just like calcium, gets deposited in the kidneys.
Excessive animal protein intake: Too much of animal protein intake can make the urine turn acidic, leading to uric acid depositions in the kidneys.
Sugary, aerated drinks: These lead to undesirable waste deposition in the blood stream and eventually in the kidneys.
Inadequate water intake: Not keeping the body well hydrated can cause the urine to turn acidic and increase waste deposition.
Potential risks and complications of kidney stones:

Kidney stones may cause an infection in the kidneys which may eventually spread to the other internal organs and surrounding tissues.
Kidney stones block the ureter and cause severe pain and discomfort that make sitting, standing or any other posture difficult.
Kidney stones rarely cause kidney failures but the severe blockage and infection may cause such detrimental results in the human body.

Kidney Stones - 5 Causes Behind It!

A great alternative to refined sugar, honey is packed with essential nutrients and is really delicious to eat. There are many health benefits of honey. It can be easily added to any diet as a topping, say for fruit salads, ice-creams or as a spread. But are you aware that the jars of this tasty golden liquid can sometimes not be honey at all but syrup that tastes exactly like honey? So, How do you evaluate if you are buying real honey?

In order to boost profits, honey manufacturers dilute their product with adulterants such as flour, syrup or molasses and even sand and chalk. If you want to get the most out of this tick liquid, you should buy only pure honey.

What Is Pure Honey?
Real honey is not produced in factories but from bees. Usually, organic and natural honey are referred to as pure honey. However, it is not always feasible to tell if the honey is pure by just looking at it. Natural honey is made only by honey bees and when these bees are fed only at organically grown flowers, the honey they produced is classified as organic.

What Is Fake Honey?
Also known as artificial, adulterated or impure, fake honey contains additives including corn syrup, glucose, molasses, sugar syrup, dextrose, invert sugar, flour or starch apart from the floral nectar.

How To Find Fake Honey?
Listed below are a few simple tips that you can carry out at the comfort of your home to determine whether the honey you are buying is genuine or fake.



Read The Label: In addition to buying well-known and reputed brands of honey, ensure that you check the label for the logo and brand name. This will guarantee that the jar you pickup is not only good quality but also genuine. The label on the jar should list only one ingredient, honey, no additives, or flavourings.
The Warm Water Test: Add a teaspoon of honey to a glass of warm water. If the honey is pure, then it will sink to the bottom of the glass as a lump or stick to the spoon when the mixture is stirred. If the honey is adulterated with any kind of syrup, it will dissolve in the water.
The Thumb Test: Put a drop of honey on your thumb. If it spreads or spills, then it is not pure. Pure honey is thick in texture and would remain intact on your thumb.
The Flame Test: Honey is inflammable and easily catches fire. Dip a dry matchstick in honey, then strike the matchbox. If the matchstick lights with ease and continues to burn, then the honey is pure. Due to the moisture present as an adulterant in fake honey, a matchstick dipped in fake honey will not light easily.
The Foam Test: Add 2-3 drops of vinegar essence to the honey and mix well. If it becomes foamy within 2-3 minutes, then the product you have purchased is not pure and contains additives.
The Tissue Paper Test: Put a drop of honey on a piece of tissue paper. If it gets absorbed and leaves the paper wet or a watermark on the paper, then it is adulterated and not pure honey.
The Heat Test: If the honey is pure, then on heating, it will caramelize. However, fake honey tends to form bubbles on heating and does not caramelize.
The Bread Test: Pure honey when spread on the bread, makes the bread hardened within a few minutes. On the other hand, the slice of bread remains soft and moisturized if there are any additives present in the honey.
The Crystallization Test: Pure honey has a natural tendency to crystallize over time because of the presence of glucose oxidase, an enzyme that removes water/moisture from honey. Fake honey does not become thick, when stored.
The Egg Yolk Test: When honey is mixed will egg yolk in a bowl and both are blended together, the yolk looks like it is cooked. However, fake honey does not produce this effect on the egg yolk.
You might sometimes be able to spot fake honey by its taste and smell, though not always. Honey being a natural product and produced from the nectar of different flowers, it does not always taste or smell the same. It is also not possible to taste honey before buying it if as the product comes in a sealed bottle or jar. Therefore, it is recommended to only pick branded or organic honey to ensure that the honey you are buying is pure and genuine.

Honey - How To Spot If It Is Fake Or Not?

As we all are aware that waste products in the blood are passed through urine. This filtering process is done by the kidneys as it separates the waste products including minerals and salts, which have to be passed out through urine. Many times, these minerals and salts get stuck in your urinary tract and over a long period, this forms kidney stones. They can vary in size from a ping pong ball to the size of a sugar crystal. They are not noticed till the time they cause a blockage. Sometimes, they cause immense pain if they start breaking or are pushed into the ureters (narrow ducts which lead to the bladder).

Symptoms of kidney stones:
1. Immense pain in the groin, belly and back.
2. Pain while urinating and urination occurring frequently.
3. Blood found in the urine (haematuria).
4. Vomiting and nausea.
5. Feeling extremely restless and not being able to lie still.

Kidney stones can also cause a kidney infection. Signs of kidney infection include:
Kidney stones can also cause infection in the kidneys as they block the passage of urine to the bladder by blocking the ureters. This leads to build up of the waste product which can result in an infection. Some of the symptoms of kidney infections could be:
1. Feeling chilly and shivering on your skin.
2. High temperature of 100.4 F (38C) or more.
3. A feeling of fatigue or weakness.
4. Immense diarrhea
5. Bad smelling and cloudy urine.

Types of Kidney stones:
1. Struvite stones: It contains ammonia and magnesium. It is usually quite large and horn- shaped.
2. Uric acid stones: Brown, smooth and softer than other kinds of kidney stones.
3. Cystine stones: They are yellow and don t look like stones. They usually resemble crystal.
4. Calcium stones: It is composed of calcium.

What causes kidney stones?
Kidney stones can occur due to several factors. It usually forms when urine generally contains crystal substances like uric acid, calcium and oxalate. Your urine might not be able to dilute these substances resulting in the perfect environment for the formation of kidney stones. In case you are showing any of the symptoms mentioned above, you should visit you doctor immediately before the problem can worsen.

Common Symptoms of Kidney Stones

The most common dietary problem that every vegetarian comes across is protein deficiency. It was a widely acknowledged fact that animal products are the best protein sources. However, it is no longer so, and vegetarians everywhere can now rejoice!

Here are the 13 best sources of protein for vegetarians:

Green peas: Green peas are legumes, which are a very good protein source. They contain 7.9 grams of protein per serving.

Quinoa: Grains usually contain very little protein, but quinoa is unique. It contains 8 grams of protein per serving, and contains all nine important amino acids that your body needs for repair and growth.

Nuts and nut butter: Nuts are a good source of proteins and healthy fats. However, eat them with caution, as they do contain 160 calories per serving. Butter made from nuts like peanut butter and almond butter is also a good source of protein.

Beans: Beans are available in a variety of colours and shapes, but all of them have one thing in common that is the high level of protein.

Chickpeas: Chickpeas are also from the legume family, so they also contain high amounts of protein; 7.3 grams of protein in only half of a serving.

Tofu and tempeh: Tempeh and tofu are both soy products and they have the highest amount of vegetarian proteins, about 15-20 grams per serving.

Edamame or soybean: Edamame or soybean is excellent for snacking. They contain 8.4 grams of protein in just half a cup.

Leafy greens: Vegetables usually do not contain much protein, but eating green vegetables will significantly add to your protein consumption. For example, you can eat one cup of cooked broccoli as that contains 8.1 grams of protein.

Hemp: Blend hemp seeds in smoothies or baked goods to get your daily dose of protein. Hemp contains 10 grams of protein per tablespoon.

Chia seeds: Chia seeds contain 4.7 grams of protein per two tablespoons, making them excellent sources of protein.

Seitan: This is a meat substitute made from wheat gluten and it contains 36 grams of protein per serving (about half a cup).

Non-dairy milk: Milk made from soy (best non-dairy protein source), almond, rice and hemp are good dairy substitutes.

Unsweetened cocoa powder: This will surprise you, but bitter cocoa contains nearly 1 gram of protein per serving (1 tablespoon)! 
All the above-mentioned food items are the best source of proteins for vegetarians. So, enjoy them with no worry.

Know Excellent Sources Of Protein For Vegetarians!

Kidney stone formation is the most common kidney disease, and people who have had it, would immediately be reminded of the severe pain (loin to groin) in the back. 

How stones are formed?

The kidney functions as the body s filters in removing wastes from the body through urine.
Most of the waste is in the form of salts and when there is excessive salts and reduced amount of water, there could be formation of crystals or stones in the kidneys.
Symptoms

Reduced amount of urination
Blood in the urine due to damage of the urinary tract structures
Painful urination with burning sensation
Swollen abdomen
Nausea and vomiting
Fever and chills
Benefits of homeopathic remedies
Kidney stones are highly likely to be recurrent. A number of factors contribute to their formation. Homeopathy aims at treating the whole body and not just dissolving the stones. It offers various remedies, which ensure the stones are completely dissolved and also prevent recurrence.

Remedies

Berberis Vulgaris is prescribed for the following conditions:
Very useful in left-sided stones where patient experiences pain radiating to the ureter, bladder, and urethra and down to the thighs.
Burning sensation with urination
Slightly red or green urine with mucus (increased consistency of urine)
Increase in pain with any kind of physical movement
Soreness in the lumbar region of the kidneys
Cantharis is suitable for the following conditions:
Paroxysms of renal colic with cutting and stabbing pains
Severe pain before and after urination in the urethral area
Constant urge to urinate, but very little flow
No relief even after sitting and straining
Bloody urine (slightly pinkish tinge), if there is damage to internal structures
Sharp tearing pain when this damage happens
Thirst and aversion to all fluids
Lycopodium is one of the most reliable homeopathic medicines for right-sided kidney stones.
Works better for right-sided stones, where it dissolves them completely
Severe backache experienced by the affected person prior to passing urine, which reduces after urination
Great urge to urinate, even at night
Presence of sediments (red or yellow) in the urine
Abdominal bloating with distention along with right-sided kidney pain
Hydrangea, also referred to as the stone breaker, reduces chances of recurrence of kidney stones in the following conditions:
Right-sided pain
Blood-tinged urine
Increased frequency of urination
Lots of white sediments in the urine

Kidney Stones - How Homeopathy Can Help You?

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